From The Athletic daily email...
Full piece here (paywall) >>> https://theathletic.com/1820160/
Barnsley are one of several clubs considering legal action against the English Football League if they are relegated this season but Birmingham City, Derby County or Sheffield Wednesday are allowed to start next season in the Championship on minus points because of financial fair play (FFP) sanctions.
Derby and Sheffield Wednesday face independent disciplinary hearings related to the sale of their stadiums to their owners, while the EFL has lodged a second appeal against a decision to clear Birmingham of breaking a settlement linked to an earlier breach of the spending rules.
Of these cases, the first two are the most significant in terms of what is at stake and their potential impact on this season's relegation picture, with Derby 12 points clear of Charlton Athletic in 22nd place, the final relegation spot, and Sheffield Wednesday three points worse off than the Rams.
Barnsley are bottom, seven points behind 21st-placed Hull City, but their co-owner Paul Conway is in no mood to accept relegation quietly.
"People seem to think little old Barnsley will follow the rules and not make a fuss," Conway told The Athletic.
"If we've been wronged as a result of the league not following its own rules, then it stands to reason that we'd go against the league and its TV money and ask them to pay us the difference in revenue. We think that's fair and we hope it will benefit other clubs who follow the rules and try to develop young talent.
"I'm an American and in American sports, we self-regulate — if someone breaks the rules, they are cheating the rest of us and we take action.
"We went through this two years ago, when we were five minutes from staying up on the last day only for Bolton to win and go above us. Everyone knew they were cheating the system and were hundreds of millions in debt.
"We decided not to do anything about it then but our attitude has changed. Relegation to League One cost us about £7 million in revenue. If something like that happens again, we'll make a claim and we think we'll have a strong case. We're not asking for a change in the rules. We are asking for the rules to be followed."
Derby and Sheffield Wednesday face independent disciplinary hearings related to the sale of their stadiums to their owners, while the EFL has lodged a second appeal against a decision to clear Birmingham of breaking a settlement linked to an earlier breach of the spending rules.
Of these cases, the first two are the most significant in terms of what is at stake and their potential impact on this season's relegation picture, with Derby 12 points clear of Charlton Athletic in 22nd place, the final relegation spot, and Sheffield Wednesday three points worse off than the Rams.
Barnsley are bottom, seven points behind 21st-placed Hull City, but their co-owner Paul Conway is in no mood to accept relegation quietly.
"People seem to think little old Barnsley will follow the rules and not make a fuss," Conway told The Athletic.
"If we've been wronged as a result of the league not following its own rules, then it stands to reason that we'd go against the league and its TV money and ask them to pay us the difference in revenue. We think that's fair and we hope it will benefit other clubs who follow the rules and try to develop young talent.
"I'm an American and in American sports, we self-regulate — if someone breaks the rules, they are cheating the rest of us and we take action.
"We went through this two years ago, when we were five minutes from staying up on the last day only for Bolton to win and go above us. Everyone knew they were cheating the system and were hundreds of millions in debt.
"We decided not to do anything about it then but our attitude has changed. Relegation to League One cost us about £7 million in revenue. If something like that happens again, we'll make a claim and we think we'll have a strong case. We're not asking for a change in the rules. We are asking for the rules to be followed."
Full piece here (paywall) >>> https://theathletic.com/1820160/
